Anti-Slide Sheath of Grip and Methods for Using and Fabricating the Same

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to an anti-slide sheath of a grip and methods for using and fabricating the same. The anti-slide sheath of a grip includes a sheath body for attaching a grip, and a connection portion is provided on the sheath body; the sheath body includes a contact surface located outside the sheath body and a connection surface contacting a surface of the grip; the contact surface and the connection surface are both supported by flexible materials.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of sports equipment, and in particular, to an anti-slide sheath of a grip and methods for using and fabricating the same.

Description of Related Art

Grips are often used in sports events, for example, propellers in kayaking events include paddles and grips. As another example, dumbbells include weight plates and grips. Such grips often need to have lighter weight and higher strength, and therefore grips in sports events are often made of hard materials such as alloys.

However, conventional grips often suffer from a problem of poor anti-slide performance.

SUMMARY

In order to effectively improve the anti-slide performance of a grip, in a first aspect of the present application, there is provided an anti-slide sheath of a grip.

The present application provides the following technical solution:

An anti-slide sheath of a grip includes a sheath body configured for attaching to a grip. The sheath body includes a contact surface located outside the sheath body and a connection surface contacting a surface of the grip. Both the contact surface and the connection surface are made of flexible materials. A connection portion is provided on the sheath body.

In the above technical solution, a flexible connection surface is utilized to come into contact with the grip, which significantly enhances a frictional force between the anti-slide sheath and the grip and improves the strength and stability of the connection between the anti-slide sheath and the grip. The providing of the connection portion achieves an annular closing of the sheath body. The specific principle is that, after the flexible connection surface contacts with the grip, the anti-slide sheath is subjected to a radial force, in this case, the deformation of the connection surface increases the contact area between the connection surface and the grip, and the force between the connection surface and the grip increases accordingly. In this way, a stable connection between anti-slide sheath and the grip is achieved. On the other hand, the flexible contact surface can effectively eliminate or alleviate the problem of roughening the user's hands during use.

Preferably, an adhesive layer is provided on the connection surface, and the sheath body is bonded to the grip.

In the above technical solution, on one hand, the adhesive layer connects the anti-slide sheath and the grip with an adhesive force, and on the other hand, the contact area between the adhesive layer and the grip can be significantly increased, so as to improve the frictional force on both surfaces of the adhesive layer.

Preferably, a zipper is provided on two opposite sides of the sheath body, and the sheath body forms a cylindrical structure through the zipper.

In the above technical solution, a zipper is utilized to form a cylindrical structure, so that the anti-slide sheath is simple and convenient to sleeve. Meanwhile, in the process of repeatedly sleeving the anti-slide sheath onto the grip, the arrangement of the zipper prevents the anti-slide sheath from being pulled and dragged, thereby effectively avoiding deformation fatigue of flexible materials of the anti-slide sheath, and further prolonging the service life of the anti-slide sheath.

In order to improve the anti-slide performance of a grip, in a second aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for using the anti-slide sheath of a grip.

The method for using the anti-slide sheath of a grip includes the following steps: coating a volatile lubricant on an outer surface of the connection surface or the grip; and mounting the sheath body to a target position of the grip, until the volatile lubricant is completely volatilized.

The inner diameter of the anti-slide sheath is slightly smaller than that of the grip. Normally, it is difficult to smoothly sleeve the anti-slide sheath on the grip due to the presence of the frictional force therebetween. However, the use of the volatile lubricant can significantly reduce the frictional resistance between the anti-slide sheath and the grip, and make it easy to sleeve the anti-slide sheath on the grip. After the volatile lubricant is volatilized, the frictional force between anti-slide sheath and the grip is increased, ensuring the anti-slide effect of anti-slide sheath.

Preferably, the volatile lubricant is one or more selected from the group consisting of water, alcohol, acetic acid and ethyl acetate.

In the above technical solution, the volatile lubricant is utilized, on the one hand, the connection between the silicone rubber and the grip is achieved, and on the other hand, the lubricant can be volatilized by itself without using other additional means, thus it is safe and convenient to use the volatile lubricant.

In order to improve the anti-slide performance of a grip, in a third aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip.

The method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip includes the following steps:

S1, adding silicone rubber as feedstock into an annular mold cavity;

S2, heating up and pressurizing the annular mold cavity, so that the silicone rubber is cured and molded through high-temperature vulcanization;

S3, applying a force to a surface of the molded silicone rubber to separate the silicone rubber from a surface of the annular mold cavity; and

S4, opening the annular mold cavity to remove the molded silicone rubber.

In the above technical solution, an anti-slide sheath of a grip with desired shape and structure can be directly formed by using the annular mold cavity, thereby shortening the overall time for machining the anti-slide sheath of a grip. On the other hand, the surface of the molded silicone rubber is applied with a force, so that the silicone rubber and the mold cavity can be stably separated, thereby avoiding a damage to the silicone rubber during demolding.

Preferably, a temperature in S2 is from 180° C. to 200° C.

In the above technical solution, the molding quality of the anti-slide sheath of a grip is guaranteed.

Preferably, an opening is provided in at least one end of the annular mold cavity.

In the above technical solution, it can be ensured that the anti-slide sheath of a grip can be separated from the annular mold cavity after molding, thereby ensuring the machining stability of the anti-slide sheath of a grip.

Preferably, the mold includes a mold cylinder for molding an outer surface of the sheath body and a mold core for molding an inner surface of the sheath body;

the mold cylinder is of a cylindrical structure as a whole, an opening is formed in a lower end of the mold cylinder, the mold core is provided inside the mold cylinder and located at the axis position of the mold cylinder, an upper end of the mold core is sealingly connected to the top surface of the mold cylinder and extends out of the mold cylinder, a mold cover is provided at the opening of the mold cylinder, a connecting hole is defined at a center of the mold cover, and the mold cover is sleeved on the mold core via the connecting hole;

the mold core is of a hollow structure and made of a flexible material, an air suction pipe and an air intake pipe are connected to an upper end of the mold core, a negative pressure pump is connected to one end of the air suction pipe, a positive pressure pump is connected to the other end of the air intake pipe, and control valves are respectively provided on the air suction pipe and the air intake pipe for controlling opening and closing of the air suction pipe and the air intake pipe;

the mold cylinder is of a hollow structure, including a positive pressure cavity and a negative pressure cavity provided in parallel and separated by a diaphragm, an outer surface of the mold cylinder is connected with an air intake duct and an air exhaust duct, the air intake duct is communicated with the positive pressure cavity, the air exhaust duct is communicated with the negative pressure cavity, control valves are respectively provided on the air intake duct and the air exhaust duct, one end of an unloading lever is flush with an inner surface of the mold cylinder, and the other end of the unloading lever is fixed to the diaphragm.

In the above technical solution, the production and machining efficiency of silicone rubber is significantly improved.

In summary, the present application has at least one of the following beneficial technical effects.

1. The frictional force between the silicone rubber and the grip is reinforced by the inter-molecular force in a state where the silicone rubber is attached to the grip by using properties of the silicone rubber itself, which is convenient, simple, and effective for use.

2. The anti-slide sheath is kept in a relatively dry state as much as possible during use due to an excellent water absorption performance of the silicone rubber, which improves safety of the anti-slide sheath.

3. The flexible anti-slide sheath body can effectively eliminate or alleviate the problem of roughening the user's hand during use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an anti-slide sheath according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of mounting an anti-slide sheath according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an anti-slide sheath according to another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an anti-slide sheath according to yet another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an anti-slide sheath according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a compression mold of silicone rubber in a closing state according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a compression mold of silicone rubber in an opening state according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present application is further illustrated below in detail in combination with FIG. 1 to FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided an anti-slide sheath of a grip, including a sheath body 1 which is configured as a cylindrical structure as a whole, for being sleeved on a grip 9. The connection portion 5 can be understood as any section in the sheath body 1. The sheath body 1 includes an inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer is a connection surface 2, and the sheath body 1 is in direct contact with the grip 9 through the connection surface 2. The outer layer is in general exposed to the outside, becoming a contact surface 3. A certain number of anti-slide ribs 4 are provided on the contact surface 3. In another embodiment, the anti-slide rib 4 is a protrusion.

The anti-slide rib 4 is helically provided on the contact surface 3. The anti-slide rib 4 is integrally formed with the sheath body 1 to ensure the strength of the anti-slide rib 4. The arrangement of the anti-slide rib 4 significantly improves the frictional force between the user and the anti-slide sheath.

In an embodiment, both the connection surface 2 and the contact surface 3 can be made of flexible materials, preferably silicone rubber. During practical use, the grip 9 is generally a metal material with a smooth surface. The silicone rubber can effectively contact the grip 9, and provides a frictional resistance sufficient to effectively prevent the sheath body 1 from sliding on the grip 9. The specific principle is that, on one hand, the silicone rubber is relatively flexible, and will be subjected to deformation under pressure. Although the grip 9 is smooth under macroscopic observation, the surface of the grip 9 is an uneven surface in a microstructure. The silicone rubber is deformed by pressure so that the surfaces of the silicone rubber and the grip 9 are wholly attached to each other, thereby significantly increasing the frictional force therebetween. On the other hand, the contact between the connection surface 2 and the grip 9 also increases the Van der Waals force between the sheath body 1 and the grip 9, making the connection between the sheath body 1 and the grip 9 more stable and firm.

The contact surface 3 is silicone rubber. On one hand, the flexibility of the silicone rubber increases the contact between the silicone rubber and a user, and on the other hand, the water absorption performance of the silicone rubber itself also enables the surface thereof to be kept relatively dry, so as to improve the anti-slide performance of the sheath body 1.

In this technical solution, the anti-slide sheath is wholly made of silicone rubber, and the diameter of the connection surface 2 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the grip 9. When the anti-slide sheath is sleeved onto the grip 9, the anti-slide sheath is expanded by the grip 9 due to the elasticity of the silicone rubber, during which a greater resistance will be generated between anti-slide sheath and the grip 9. Therefore, it is necessary to use a volatile lubricant to reduce the resistance between them and ensure that the anti-slide sheath can be sleeved to a target position. After the anti-slide sheath is mounted in place, the lubricant is volatilized by itself, and the anti-slide sheath is tightly attached to the grip due to properties of the silicone rubber itself, achieving a significant anti-slide effect between the anti-slide sheath and the grip 9.

In an embodiment, there is also provided a method for using the anti-slide sheath of a grip, in particular, including:

A, coating a layer of volatile lubricant on the surface of the grip 9, which can be volatilized autonomously in a conventional environment without the aid of other conditions. In one embodiment, the volatile lubricant is one or more selected from the group consisting of water, alcohol, acetic acid and ethyl acetate. In a further embodiment, water is used as the volatile lubricant;

B, sleeving an opening at one end of the sheath body 1 onto the end of the grip 9, and then sliding the sheath body 1 to a preset target position of the grip 9; and

C, leaving the grip 9 and the sheath body 1 to stand, so as to naturally dry the lubricant.

Practical tests show that, in some embodiments, there is no shift between the anti-slide sheath and the grip 9, even when an axial force of about 5000N is acted on the sheath.

In one embodiment, there is also disclosed a compression mold for preparing a silicone rubber.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the compression mold includes a mold cylinder 6 for molding an outer surface of the sheath body 1 and a mold core 7 for molding an inner surface of the sheath body 1.

The mold cylinder 6 is configured as a cylindrical structure as a whole, with an opening being formed in a lower end of the mold cylinder 6. The mold core 7 is provided inside the mold cylinder 6 and located at the axis position of the mold cylinder 6. An upper end of the mold core 7 is sealingly connected to the top surface of the mold cylinder 6, extending out of the mold cylinder 6. A mold cover 8 is provided at the opening of the mold cylinder 6, with a connecting hole being defined at a center of the mold cover 8. The mold cover 8 is sleeved on the mold core 7 via the connecting hole. A mold cavity for molding silicone rubber is formed in the mold cylinder 6 by the connection of the mold cylinder 6, the mold cover 8, and the mold core 7 with each other.

Generally, the anti-slide sheath is fabricated by firstly producing a long sheath body 1, and then cutting into a plurality of sheath units. Therefore, in a practical production process, after the sheath body 1 is molded in the mold cavity, demolding becomes difficult due to the length of the sheath body 1. In turn, a single machining length of the sheath body 1 is limited due to the limitation to demolding. In order to solve the above problem, A solution to the compression mold for preparing a silicone rubber is provided in one embodiment.

In particular, the mold core 7 is made of a flexible material, preferably a rubber. The mold core 7 is of a hollow structure. An air suction pipe 72 and an air intake pipe 71 are connected to an upper end of the mold core 7. A negative pressure pump is connected to the other end of the air suction pipe 72, and a positive pressure pump is connected to the other end of the air intake pipe 71. Control valves are respectively provided on the air suction pipe 72 and the air intake pipe 71 for controlling opening and closing of the air suction pipe 72 and the air intake pipe 71.

In a closing state of the mold, the air suction pipe 72 is closed, and the positive pressure pump is started. The mold core 7 is inflated via the air intake pipe 71, so that the mold core 7 is expanded to reach the outer diameter of the standard mold core 7.

In an opening state of the mold, the air intake pipe 71 is closed, the negative pressure pump is started, and air in the mold core 7 is evacuated via the air suction pipe 72, so as to shrink the mold core 7. In this state, due to shrinkage of the mold core 7, the mold core 7 is separated from the preformed silicone rubber, achieving the opening of the silicone rubber. In this way, the silicone rubber can be rapidly removed out of the mold cavity.

In order to limit the maximum outer diameter of the mold core 7 in an inflated state, and prevent the surface of the mold core 7 from being affected by high temperature as well, fireproof cloth is bonded to the surface of the mold core 7. Specifically, the fireproof cloth is polytetrafluoroethylene coated glass fiber cloth. Also, the inventors have found that, when using the fireproof cloth as the outer surface of the mold core 7, tiny protrusions are formed on the inner surface of the molded silicone rubber under microscopic observation due to the fibrous woven structure on the surface of the cloth. That is, the inner surface of the silicone rubber has a relatively high roughness. Thus, the anti-slide sheath has a very good stability during use.

A core rod 73 is fixedly provided at the axis position of the mold core 7, and a lower end of the core rod 73 extends out of the mold core 7. A limiting hole 67 is provided at the bottom of the mold cover 8. The end of the core rod 73 is inserted into the limiting hole 67 so as to fix the core rod 7. Due to the providing of the core rod 73, the mold core 7 is shrunk uniformly in the direction of the core rod 73.

A plurality of unloading holes are uniformly provided on the inner surface of the mold cylinder 6. An unloading lever 65 is provided in the unloading hole. The unloading lever 65 is slidably connected to the unloading hole. One end of the unloading lever 65 is flush with the inner surface of the mold cylinder 6, and the other end of the unloading lever 65 is extended out of the mold cylinder 6. In the opening state of mold, the unloading lever 65 is pressed to move towards the central position of the mold cylinder 6, so that the end of the unloading lever 65 pushes the outer surface of the silicone rubber away from the inner surface of the mold cylinder 6. By means of this mechanism, a preformed silicone rubber is effectively separated from the mold cylinder 6. The silicone rubber is thoroughly separated from the mold cavity through dual cooperation of the unloading lever 65 with the mold core 7.

For controlling the unloading rod 65 more conveniently, the mold cylinder 6 is of a hollow structure, including a positive pressure cavity 61 and a negative pressure cavity 62 provided in parallel and separated by a diaphragm 66. The diaphragm 66 is an elastic diaphragm and optionally, is supported by rubber. An outer surface of the mold cylinder 6 is connected with an air intake duct 63 and an air exhaust duct 64. The air intake duct 63 is communicated with the positive pressure cavity 61, and the air exhaust duct 64 is communicated with the negative pressure cavity 62. Control valves are respectively provided on the air intake duct 63 and the air exhaust duct 64. One end of an unloading lever 65 is flush with an inner surface of the mold cylinder 6, and the other end of the unloading lever 62 is fixed to the diaphragm 66.

In a closing state, the negative pressure cavity 62 and the positive pressure cavity 61 are in an air pressure balance state, and the end of the unloading lever 65 is flush with the inner surface of the mold cylinder 6.

In an opening state, the air intake duct 63 is controlled to delivery air into the positive pressure cavity 61, so that the positive pressure cavity 61 is expanded to push the unloading lever 65 into the mold cylinder 6, thus achieving demolding of the silicone rubber. After demolding is completed, the negative pressure cavity 62 is expanded to exhaust air from the positive pressure cavity 61, until the air pressure in the positive pressure cavity 61 and the air pressure in the negative pressure cavity 62 are in a balance state again. Then, the end of the unloading lever 65 returns to the position flush with the inner surface of the mold cylinder 6, ready for next molding of the silicone rubber.

In an embodiment, there is also disclosed a method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip:

S1, adding feedstock of silicone rubber into an annular mold cavity formed between the mold cylinder 6 and the mold core 7;

S2, heating up and pressurizing the annular mold cavity, so that the feedstock of silicone rubber is cured and molded through vulcanization at a temperature of 180° C. to 200° C.;

S3, starting a negative pressure pump to shrink the mold core 7, so that the mold core 7 is separated from the inner surface of the silicone rubber sheath; then, the positive pressure cavity 61 is inflated via the air intake duct 63, so that an unloading lever 65 is pushed out to separate the outer surface of the silicone rubber sheath from the inner side wall of the mold cylinder 6; and

S4, opening the mold cover to remove the molded silicone rubber.

In another embodiment, there is disclosed an anti-slide sheath of a grip, including a sheath body 1, as shown in FIG. 3. The sheath body 1 is made of silicone rubber and is substantially planar as a whole. The sheath body 1 has two surfaces. One is the connection surface 2, and the other is the contact surface 3. An adhesive layer is bonded to the connection surface 2. In one embodiment, the adhesive layer is 3M adhesive. The connection surface 2 is adhesively fixed to the grip 9 through the adhesive layer. The contact surface 3 faces outward as a working surface.

In yet another embodiment, there is disclosed an anti-slide sheath of a grip, including a sheath body 1, as shown in FIG. 4. The sheath body 1 is made of silicone rubber and is of substantially planar structure as a whole. A zipper 10 is fixedly connected on two opposite sides of the sheath body 1.

During use, the sheath body 1 is sleeved at a preset position outside the grip 9. Then, two sides of the sheath body 1 are connected via a zipper 10, so that the sheath body 1 is in tight contact with the surface of the grip 9. “Tight contact” means that, when the sheath body 1 is wound into a cylindrical structure on the surface of the grip 9, the inner diameter of the sheath body 1 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the surface of the grip 9. Preferably, the inner diameter of the sheath body 1 is substantially 90-98% of the outer diameter of the surface of the grip 9.

In still another embodiment, there is disclosed an anti-slide sheath of a grip, including a sheath body 1, as shown in FIG. 5. The sheath body 1 is made of silicone rubber and is substantially planar as a whole. A connection portion 5 extends from a side surface of the sheath body 1. In one embodiment, the connection portion 5 is an arc connection portion. The connection portion 5 connect both sides of the sheath body 1 with each other so that the sheath body 1 is formed into a cylinder shape. The inner side surface of the sheath body 1 is a connection surface 2. The sheath body 1 contacts the surface of the grip 9 through the connection surface 2. The outer surface of the sheath body 1 is a contact surface 3.

The width of the connection portion 5 is much smaller than that of the sheath body 1, so that the scalability of the connection portion 5 is larger than that of the sheath body 1. When the sheath body 1 is connected to the grip 9, the connection portion 5 is firstly deformed to enlarge the inner diameter of the sheath body 1. Then, the sheath body 1 is wholly connected to the grip 9 due to the elastic shrinkage of the connection portion 5.

Preferably, there are a plurality of connection portions 5 provided in parallel, so that the entire sheath body 1 is more stable.

The above description is only preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent changes of the structure, shape or principle according to the spirit of the present application should be all included in the protection scope of the present application. 

1. An anti-slide sheath of a grip, comprising a sheath body configured for attaching to the grip, wherein the sheath body comprises a contact surface located outside the sheath body and a connection surface contacting a surface of the grip, both the contact surface and the connection surface are made of flexible material, and a connection portion is provided on the sheath body.
 2. The anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 1, wherein an adhesive layer is provided on the connection surface, and the sheath body is bonded to the grip.
 3. The anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 1, wherein a zipper is provided on two opposite sides of the sheath body, and the sheath body forms a cylindrical structure through the zipper.
 4. A method for using the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: coating a volatile lubricant on an outer surface of the connection surface or the grip; and mounting the sheath body to a target position of the grip, until the volatile lubricant is completely volatilized.
 5. The method for using the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 4, wherein the volatile lubricant is one or more selected from the group consisting of water, alcohol, acetic acid and ethyl acetate.
 6. A method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: S1, adding silicone rubber as feedstock into an annular mold cavity; S2, heating up and pressurizing the annular mold cavity, so that the silicone rubber is cured and molded through high-temperature vulcanization; S3, applying a force to a surface of the molded silicone rubber to separate the silicone rubber from a surface of the annular mold cavity; and S4, opening the annular mold cavity to remove the molded silicone rubber.
 7. The method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 6, wherein a temperature in S2 is from 180° C. to 200° C.
 8. The method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 7, wherein an opening is provided in at least one end of the annular mold cavity.
 9. The method for fabricating the anti-slide sheath of a grip according to claim 8, wherein the mold comprises a mold cylinder for molding an outer surface of the sheath body and a mold core for molding an inner surface of the sheath body; the mold cylinder is of a cylindrical structure as a whole, an opening is formed in a lower end of the mold cylinder, the mold core is provided inside the mold cylinder and located at an axis position of the mold cylinder, an upper end of the mold core is sealingly connected to the top surface of the mold cylinder extends out of the mold cylinder, a mold cover is provided at the opening of the mold cylinder, a connecting hole is defined at a center of the mold cover, and the mold cover is sleeved on the mold core via the connecting hole; the mold core is of a hollow structure and made of a flexible material, an air suction pipe and an air intake pipe are connected to an upper end of the mold core, a negative pressure pump is connected to one end of the air suction pipe, a positive pressure pump is connected to the other end of the air intake pipe, and control valves are respectively provided on the air suction pipe and the air intake pipe for controlling opening and closing of the air suction pipe and the air intake pipe; the mold cylinder is of a hollow structure, and the mold cylinder comprises a positive pressure cavity and a negative pressure cavity provided in parallel and separated by a diaphragm; and an outer surface of the mold cylinder is connected with an air intake duct and an air exhaust duct, the air intake duct is communicated with the positive pressure cavity, the air exhaust duct is communicated with the negative pressure cavity, control valves are respectively provided on the air intake duct and the air exhaust duct, one end of an unloading lever is flush with an inner surface of the mold cylinder, and the other end of the unloading lever is fixed to the diaphragm. 